XK8 / XKR ( X100 ) 1996 - 2006
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3D Printer Technology

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  #21  
Old 07-10-2023, 08:14 AM
cdma's Avatar
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Can you make these in black? Maybe with a black screw. Again I think Chrome needs to stay outside. I just purchased a very good 3d camera so if not I will start making these myself along with other parts. May take me a while to get what I am looking for but may be able to offer the USA with an alternative
 
  #22  
Old 07-13-2023, 12:11 PM
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My 2003 is a bit of a testing / prototype vehicle for whatever comes to mind for me.
Sometimes it is about budget but most times it is about trying various things to see what I can pull off.
My car came with the replacement, aftermarket 4 tail light conversion and the entire assemblies had cracked, burned, or otherwise fallen apart.
I have a Dremel 3D45 that I use for prototyping parts for my business and I also own 3 x Next Wave desktop CNC machines which are all upgraded to handle the rigors of machining aluminum - something I do almost exclusively with them.
So, I took a stab at building my own replacement set of tail lights for the housings and although not 100% finished yet, the parts themselves are. Currently working on a PWM circuit board to set the brightness levels of each and then it will be done.
I found a vendor on eBay that was selling these various size and color halo rings. Normally, these are used around the headlight area but I decided to see if I could use them for a tail light construction.
The part that actually holds all the rings was machined from 1/4" aluminum plate. I used my CNC to mill out an individual channel for each ring so that they each have their own channel to sit in. I continued by machining one of my companies logos in the center and then on the outside lights, I backed that with a piece of carbon fiber for the look. The housings themselves were 3D printed using PETG filament which has becomes my go-to filament for prototyping parts. Strong, flexible and friendly to work with. I have tried printing with ABS but it is a nightmare and I have a full roll of it sitting that I don't care to use. For these lights, there is a lot of wiring involved and I needed to add load resistors to trick the SLM module to not throw up bulb out displays on the dash. I actually lost my SLM on the first attempt as the rings were pulling way to much current and smoked the resistors in the SLM. They were bright like the sun lol. Now, I am building out the PWM circuits so that I can reduce the brightness and hence the current draw for the lights.
- Each outside ring on all 4 lights serves as the park lights.
- the 2 middle rings on each serve as my brake lights.
- The outside center rings are the turn signals
- The inside center rings are my backup lights (they are yellow in appearance but generate white light)
I have various electronic work to do to finish it all up but it has been a fun and satisfying project so far. Even if I could have purchased replacement light housings for these tail light assemblies, I still would have gone this route instead. It has been a blast.
I haven't tried 3D printing actual factory replica parts yet but I will look to see what I can produce when the time comes. For now, it just goes to show how much fun it can be when you are not a purist and don't mind trying things yourself.
I have built out a few parts by hand with aluminum sheet and I also fabricated my own cold air intake which cost me about 50.00 in parts. Oh, and you might notice the exhaust? That is a work in progress. The mufflers you see on the back are actually from a Ducati 1098 motorcycle. I swapped to an aftermarket exhaust setup on the bike so I had them laying around (they are the stock mufflers). All other mufflers have been deleted and I am going to upgrade to a 2.5" pipe system here shortly. I do all of my own work on my car and at over 170,000 miles, the car owes me nothing. My modifications might not be everyone's cup of tea but its about having fun with the car as it starts to age itself out.




 
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